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Crossroads: Declaration of a Journey
Prologue: Sleeping Awake Where... Am I? A young man stood in the heart of an unfamiliar realm. His hair was black and short, though messier than the head of a mop. He looked around with uncertainty at this vast, open world around him. "Empty" was all that came to mind. Above him was a sky, he believed it was the sky anyway, though he couldn't see anything but endless masses of clouds, not a single shred of the sky made it through the white curtain, the Sun too could not be seen. Below him was an ocean, stretching as far as his eyes could see. It was still, lifeless, not a single wave to echo across its surface. His attempts to touch it were rendered futile. He was suspended barely an inch above it, but each attempt to affect the water was stopped by some unseen force, an invisible barrier that kept everything out. "I guess I should be thankful, I'd be drowning right now otherwise", the young man mused to himself, realizing that whatever stood between him and the sea was also the only thing between him and a long bath. Instinctually, his focus was suddenly drawn from the body of water beneath him to a figure that now stood before him. He hadn't heard anything to suggest the figure's arrival, instead his body had reacted on its own, as if his muscles were aware of something that he was not. His eyes cast over the figure, who was doing much the same, the corners of them visibly straining as if it to make his observation clear. The figure looked , of average size and appearance, though his hair was dressed up elaborately just like the outfit he wore. Armour, ornate and well crafted, constructed from some kind of stone by its looks and bleached the clearest white. Then, his lips moved. The young man's eyes widened slightly, his ears twitched. He could hear him, he was sure of it, but he could recall no words. The echo was stale, listless, empty. The young man opened his own mouth to speak, only to feel the air leave his lungs and no sound to them to carry the intent he sought to voice. The figure's expression turned grim. And then they were miles apart. The young man blinked, the distance between himself and the figure had greatly expanded in a single instant. "No, wait...", he said as the barrier that kept him from the sea evaporated. His world was filled with the noise of the water. His body could feel the liquid across every point, his ears drowned in the resounding splash, his eyes became lost in the blue. Part One: A Family of Strangers Wait! The young man's voice roared greatly, tearing apart the blue that had enveloped him. Behind it was a ceiling of wooden slats, neatly formed in a pattern of one and then two, creating a flow that could be counted and memorized on a slow and lazy day. "Hn, Kazuki?", a feminine voice echoed in the room. Kazuki's head turned in response in attempt to get a clear view only for it to be filled with the Sun's rays, blinding him. His eyes forced themselves shut for a moment, tears welled up whilst he blinked repeatedly in order to adjust himself. "S-Shū-nee?", he uttered, trying to behold the woman sitting on the frame of the opened window, his sight still marginally blurred by light and tears. "You alright? You look like you haven't slept a wink", she asked, her brow arched as she turned from her perch to better regard him. "Mm...", he vocalized a sound of assurance followed by a nod of his head, slowly rising from his bed. His feet swung out from under the bedcover, planting themselves on the deck with a pat of skin against wood, the planks responding with a well aged creak. Shū had cocked her head to right, propped up against a raised arm as if to stop herself from giving a look of disbelief. Her fingers moved across her scalp, ruffling her hair somewhat before she righted herself and began moving towards the stairwell at the other end of the room. "C'mon, we'll get you somethin' to eat, a big breakfast'll keep you running all day", she spoke, her hand weaving through his hair, ruffling it like her own, as she passed him. "Good idea", he replied with his gaze downcast, his attention clearly elsewhere. What was that place? Who was that man? The questions floated around in his head, unable to be answered. None of the solutions felt like they fit, though he wasn't sure why a theory needed to, something within kept telling him that each idea he came up with was wrong. Kazuki's contemplation went undisturbed by the journey downstairs, he had repeated this same path a million times, and he could walk it whilst his mind wandered as it often did. A rhythmic pattern rippled out on the old stairwell as the pair made their way down its hard maple steps. They were led down into the main part of the building, a large room with a table set out in the center, blankets resting beneath its surface, and a boiling pot surrounded by ceramic cups atop it. The room was sectioned off by a pair of waist-high walls, a clear space in between them to indicate a walkway into a stonework kitchen where an elderly woman worked away on assorted dishes. Her hair had gone grey, her skin littered with wrinkles that each told a tale in their creasing. Perhaps most eye catching was her diminutive height as she stood atop a four-legged wooden stool in order to oversee her stewing meals. "G'mornin', Shū-chan, Kazuki-chan!", their footsteps having altered her to their presence, the woman threw out a cheery call, a smile planted on her face, though she did not turn to regard them. "Mornin' auntie", Shū replied with a casual wave in the woman's direction. "Good morning Obasan", followed Kazuki, shaking his head rather dramatically to clear out his cycling thoughts. Best to leave them on the back burner for now. "Take a seat you two, breakfast's almost ready", the woman continued in her cheery tone, clearly enjoying the act of cooking with motions that made her appear as if she was dancing with the pots atop the stone stove. The pair did as directed, taking their places on the floor around the table. Shū was quick to take to the steam-emitting pot, grasping its handle and pouring the contents into the present cups. Watching the liquid fill it up, Kazuki was lured into his mind once again. Souls, he thought. Ordinarily, they wouldn't need anything to sustain them, but for some reason, there were those like Shū-nee and I, who did. Kazuki was once again forced into the present with the clatter of several dishes making their way onto the table, his vision filling up with small vapours of steam, beneath which rested several dishes of food. Filleted fish, a bowl of steaming white rice, as well as a mixture of vegetables and other greenery combined into a salad. I didn't why that was, though I could tell that the answer was always close by. His thoughts continued swirling as his eyes took in the colours of the food in front of him, though it seemed he regarded it less than he did the table that had been resting their before them. Staring into space, as the elderly woman now sitting across from him noticed. "Oi, don't daydream at the table Kazuki-chan!", she snapped clapping a pair of chopsticks together for emphasis. "S-sorry, Chiyo-basan", he apologized hastily, beads of sweat forming on his brow from a sudden shock, his hands clasped in front of himself to further emphasize his apology. "Now, now, don't worry, eat up!", she laughed it off whilst Shū, already gulping down a helping of rice simply watched them both with her eyes, casually shifting between the two from her place at the table. It was a few slow minutes, filled with the light sounds of food being lapped up and utensils clanging against the interiors of bowls or plates, or those same objects ringing softly when they hit the table, emptied of their contents. Shū and Chiyo chatted away at each other, waving their chopsticks around haphazardly about like swords whilst they did. Kazuki watched with a growing smile, knowing that all was well with his family of circumstance. They weren't blood related, most families in Soul Society weren't. Those who died were assigned a ticket, a piece of paper that told them where they would live out their time in the afterlife. A weak system, incapable of keeping track of so many beings and where they all came from, it simply dealt with them in which ever manner kept it from devolving into complete chaos. True family would rarely see each other again, only if they entered Soul Society at the exact same time in fact. But Kazuki, who could scarcely recall his time as a Human was blessed with this family of circumstance, a sister and a woman everyone called aunt. Part Two: Konpekikugi "Stay outta trouble now, y'hear?", Shū spoke casually as she finished slipping on her boots, her words directed towards Kazuki beside her who had been doing the same with a pair of wooden sandals. "I should say the same to you, Shū-nee", he'd replied with more concern in his voice than his assumed sister had shown. She was quick to laugh as the words passed her ears. "No promises, you know me", she chuckled as she spoke, whilst sliding open the wooden door to their home, stepping out into the fresh open air with the soft clatter of dirt replacing that of the wood flooring. "That's exactly why I say it", the young man cautioned as he watched her walk off. After she had gone far enough away, he slid the door closed and departed in the opposite direction towards the busier parts of Konpekikugi (紺碧釘, Azure Nail). It was nestled in the Eastern side of the Rukongai Districts, numbered thirty-eight. The quality of life there wasn't as grand as that of the Seireitei or the single digit districts of the Rukongai but no one could complain. Each ward was lined with row upon row of multi-tiered housing, clearly built by master architects. Though their designs emphasized function over style, they weren't without at least a few embellishments for the sake of creativity. The citizens all had clothes on their backs and shoes for their feet, more exotic attire, such as the garments that Shū preferred were easy to come by in the district through its commercial areas. Though the majority of Konpekikugi did not need to eat, those that did were secure in the knowledge that its 8th ward had been dedicated to the harvest of crops which was traded through out the district and the wards of other Eastern Rukongai. The 3rd ward, known as Nīroku (新緑, Verdure) served as the heart of trade, merchant stalls lined the rows of streets that had become a bazaar of sorts with all arrays of quilts and carpets placed over the roofs, tied to posts and hung on walls, as well as simply lined across the hardened dirt grounds. One stall in particular stood out. The walls of the building it protruded from where a glossed grey, a stark contrast to the earthy bronze of the other buildings. The stall itself was as gaudy as could be, a two metal rods held up a particularly flamboyant quilt of yellow and purple polka dots. A series of neon characters floated in the air through some unseen force, spelling out the name of the store. "The Limbo Company...", Kazuki breathed out the words, a crestfallen sigh accompanying the every day realization that this was where he worked. "On time as always Kazuki-chan~", A deep but forcefully effeminate voice rung in the air, sending a visible shiver up Kazuki's spine. His head creaking in the direction to find the proprietor of the store having arrived next to him. "Ah, Kachō", the young man replied with a wary look to him, which only intensified when he felt his shoulder being slapped by his employer's arm. "Now, now, Kazuki-chan, how many times must I say it, call me Tatsuo!", the man feigning being hurt puffed out his lower lip donned a puppy dog-like expression. "Right... Tatsuo-san..." "Come now, lets open up!", said Tatsuo, ignoring the defeated demeanour of his employee with another light slap on his shoulder. It was a simple process that required little from either man. They closed up a pair of curtains that hide the store's interior from view, allowing it to be cleanly seen by anyone who happened to pass by. Afterwards they simply shuffled around their stock, that which Tatsuo believed would sell well was moved to the front and those less so to the back. When they had finished, Kazuki was left to man the counter whilst Tatsuo went off to do as he pleased, though the flamboyant never strayed far from the store. The store's goods were all the brain children of Tatsuo Takehiko. He had personally designed everything that the store sold, all of which happened to cater to a very specific clientele; . Those "Gods of Death", clad in black robes that were responsible for maintaining the tenuous balance of souls in Soul Society and the as well as fighting a race of beings which everyone knew as Hollow. Each of the devices sold from the store were used to deal with Hollows in some manner, Tatsuo claimed, though Kazuki was sure many of them were far more mundane items that had just been attributed fancy names in order to justify a high asking price. It was this very reason that Kazuki was left at the counter watching passersby, his arm resting on it, while his face flatly pressed down on his hand, his fingers splaying out across his cheek in a unique enough pattern. His eyes followed the citizens, absent mindedly counting each of those who simply ignored its overpriced offerings. "Oi!", Kazuki's staring into space was ruined for the second time that day by a heavy handed voice, followed by the equal heavy handed crash of a fist onto the wooden counter. Meeting his startled gaze was a giant of a woman, sandy brown hair tied into several braids and wing shaped tattoos marked her face and arms whilst the bones of various creatures were adorned across her attire at various points. Though she didn't wear the typical attire, she was quickly recognized as a Shinigami. A Captain in fact. "B-Branunn-dono, you scared me!", his breathing had become out of pace, his hands frantically patting at his chest in some odd process to calm himself down. The woman looked at him with disinterest, impatiently replying, "I'm here for the usual stuff". "Ah, y-yes, right away...", leaping out of his seat, Kazuki was off to the back of the store, rummaging through several items in a hunt for those that the Shinigami sought. Eying a prime opportunity, Tatsuo slunk up to the Captain from seemingly nowhere and shoved a series of small pebbles in her face. "Feast yours eyes on our latest product!", he yelled with exuberance, his free hand waving over the pebbles with the deftest of motions. "Limbo Company's newest achievement in anti-Hollow measures, the..." He had cut himself off suddenly, his brow furrowing. His new product had just been created and he had yet to give it a name. His teeth clenched under the pressure and numerous beads of sweat had formed. One could swear he was beginning to turn red under his deep tanned skin as he did his best to concentrate. "Void Canceller!", he blurted out with a heavy breath, though he was doing his best to make it seem like there had never been a pause in his showing off. "Just gimme what I came for", Branunn responded flatly, though her aggressive tone remained apparent. Her eyes gave off a glare that screamed "I'll crush you like a grape if you don't shut up". It was enough to cause a lump to develop in Tatsuo's throat and left him shrinking in her presence. It wasn't long after that Kazuki returned, carrying two large red punching bags over his arms. Clearly weighed down by the large bags as he slowly approached the counter. He dropped them on top with a slap of leather muffled under what sounded like sand. What is in these things, lead!? his mind cried out to him. "That'll be 29,940 Kan!", Tatsuo said with cheer his liveliness flushing back into him with the sound of profit on the horizon. The woman didn't share in his enthusiasm, tossing down a bag filled with coins before hoisting up the large punching bags over her shoulder, carrying them effortlessly in one hand. She departed wordlessly, as if her glares were all that needed to be said. "My, my, she's certainly a scary one" Tatsuo complained with a dismissing wave of his hand. "I... think its kind of cool", Kazuki whispered aloud as he watched her disappear into the busy street. Part Three: Roadside Affair The 8th ward of Konpekikugi, Hanabanada (華華田, Spectacular Paddy Field) was a veritable ocean. A sea of crops that stretched as far as the eye could see, made up of many thin and trailing earthen paths that were surrounded in every direction by parcel upon parcel of flooded fields. At the heart of the ward sat Kohakuwon (金柏園, Golden Cypress Park), a large park warded off from the fields by a wall of wooden slats, built more as a border than for keeping people out. The interior of the park was filled with just as many winding paths as the fields surrounding it, though in between was not filled with rice fields but all manner of fruit bearing trees. Shū found herself nestled within the branches of one of the larger trees, lazily lying across its great width with a handful of nuts in hand. Her perch overlooked the great soaked fields, watching as farmers tilled the fields and taking interest every now and then in some of the rather colourful outfits they decided to dress up the scarecrows in. She let out a lengthy sigh before crunching down on one of the nuts, though it did nothing to rid her of what was ailing her. "What kind of Heaven doesn't have seas brimming with pirates?", she complained inwardly. She was a woman of the sea, it was where she was raised, where she felt comfortable, at peace. She never thought she would miss it when she passed on from the World of the Living. Most people don't until they've lost it. She was crushed the first time someone told her that Soul Society had no ocean. She never believed the stranger when she heard it, but she had searched district after district and not one had the makings of an ocean that could stretch on for forever. There were lakes here and there but not one was big enough to truly stretch her sea legs. Urgh, this is stupid. She lightly rapped the side of her head with her knuckles, drawing herself out of her own thoughts. She blinked several times to adjust to the light of the summer Sun before finally leaping from the tree. There was an audible crunch from the dirt ridden but solid earth as her heels made contact followed by the creeking bones of her neck when her free hand played across it, working out the kinks. "If I'm gonna waste my time, it might as well be productive", she stated to the wind as an affirmation for herself. She shot a nut into the air, crushing it between her teeth as it descended like a shark leaping out of water to devour its prey. With that she began a slow walk towards the park exit, rustling the remaining nuts in her hand, occasionally rolling one up to her fingers and pinging it off in a random direction. It served to stave off her boredom as she walked, casually making a game inside her head as she picked "targets", conjuring an imaginary rule set on the fly. Much further down the road a scuffle at broken out between some Rukongai locals and a passing Shinigami. "P-please, stop!", cried Toshiaki Ōtomo as one of the men in front of him pushed him back for the umpteenth time. There were eight of them standing on the road gathered around Toshiaki, blocking him from going anywhere and purposefully trying to pick a fight. "Ya Gotei bastards think yer hot stuff, yeh!?", yelled what Toshiaki could only presume to be the leader. He was a lanky fellow, with a loose kimono and greasy dark hair. His face was scarred and bruised, clearly this was a habit of his. "Look, I don't want any trouble, I am just passing through", the Shinigami tried once again to get them to leave him be, unsure of why he had earned their ire. "Please, just back away and allow me to leave". The men fell silent for a few moments, Toshiaki was sure he could hear the gears turning in their heads though he wouldn't go so far as to presume they were registering his words. No, he was sure they were mulling something over. It would be futile to think they'd let him go so simply. And he was right. "Alrigh'... We'll let ya be, if ya giv' us yer sword", said the leading figure, his tone was almost courteous compared to the words that dripped like venom from before. Toshiaki simply breathed in and then out, closing his eyes for a moment as he prepared for the inevitable. "I can't do that", he declined. His hand instinctively clung to the sword resting on his side, though he did not draw it. The thug had drawn himself close to Toshiaki's face, his entire body looming forward rather ominously. His face contorted into a twisted expression, first resembling shock then something far more malicious. His hand balled into a fist and rammed itself into Toshiaki's stomach. Toshiaki reeled backwards, an urge to spit up whatever fluids rested in his stomach overtook him for a moment but it was suppressed. His ears twitched at the sound of clattering metal, each of the men surrounding him drawing some form of weapon. Many of them were improvised, tools meant for other things simply remolded for the purpose of causing harm. The leader though carried a sword, much to short to be the usual primary weapon and its expensive, but mistreated, design was clearly too expensive for it to have originally belonged to him. "Then we'll just 'ave to take it from ya!", he said in a tone boasting dominance. Toshiaki could see the shimmer as the blade moved, its every step illuminated by the Sun. He closed his eyes, ready for the inevitable. But it never came. Instead there was a plinking sound. Shū stood a short distance away from the goings on and couldn't keep her nose out of it. She didn't have any love for the members of the Gotei 13, but she had far less tolerance for idiots like this. If you're gonna pick a fight, at least be fair, she thought. Her mouth twitching slightly as she realized how that would come across from a woman who'd made her living in life as a pirate. "Haaaaaaaah?", the thug sounded out, his eyebrow raised rather highly as he turned around, flashing an ugly look in Shū's direction. Realizing she was the cause of this gross injustice, she immediately became the new target of his aggression. "You bitch!", he yelled to make it clear. His weapon twirled from its current position so that it could swing in her direction, but she had already made a move of her own, dashing in close, she delivered a quick but powerful jab to the man's stomach stopping him in his tracks. She pushed herself back immediately afterward in order to prevent any of the others from striking her, just in time too as she got an eyeful of the colourful weaponry they had at their disposal. Her right leg reeled upward allowing her to quickly draw a knife from her boot. It was known as the Shōchōken (精彫剣, Spirit Carving Knife), an ornate knife to be sure, with engravings all across the hilt and blade. The steel was polished and the grip was well made. Still, even now Shū had the feeling that the man she bought it from was a spinster, she highly doubted it was "the original Zanpakutō", but that only left her cursing the bad habits she developed whilst drunk. She held it tightly in her grasp after reversing its grip so that the blade formed a pseudo-guard across her fore-arm, she could feel the cold metal of its blunted side through the cloth of her shirt. "What ar' ye lot standin' around fo'!? Get 'er!", yelled the group's leader through a bout of coughing and wheezing through a winded stomach. His hand clutched the point she'd struck. It brought her a feeling of confidence and pride to know her strength hadn't faded despite her relative inactivity in the brawling scene, but it was quickly drowned out when the rest of the group got involved at last, cautiously moving towards her. She'd faced overwhelming odds before. She was a captain after all, she'd stood at the helm of a ship as the seas and the Heavens both threatened to rip her and her crew apart with chaotic storms and tidal waves bigger than most palaces. She'd faced hordes of opposing pirates, the rabbled masses and even well equipped naval men, and she'd always come out on top assuming one didn't count the fateful encounter that caused her to end up in the Soul Society, of course. But even so, she couldn't shake that constant feeling, one of looming dread, like Death itself hung over her shoulder, watching, waiting, for one wrong move, one tiny mistake, so that it could claim her a second time. The first of the men closed in and went for a swing. All of the hairs on her body stood on end as electric flew through her, she moved. Not a conscious effort but an instinctive one. She'd dodged to his left, the weapon, a rusted pipe, had missed by micrometres, she could feel its presence as it skimmed past her shoulder. Adrenaline kicked in and her thoughts took a backseat to the commands of her subconscious. Her leg shot out to kick his own, her heel stabbing deeply into the knee causing a shattering sound to erupt as the thug's leg flew back destroying his balance in the process. She followed it up with a hasty, but no less powerful, jab to his face with her right hand. The man went flying backwards whilst Shū drew herself back into reality with the intense pain that rushed through her hand. Her knuckles turned red and they felt as if they had lit on fire. An involuntary feeling demanded that she swing her hand through the air haphazardly in some crazy attempt to get rid of it, but she suppressed it and focused on her situation. She looked past the rest of the goons to the bewildered Shinigami. He had been useless up till now, was he some kind of pacifist? she had to wonder. But now wasn't the time, she needed back up, even during those many conflicts against the odds Shū had never really been alone. She had a crew at her back in all those situations. "Oi! Innocent citizen under attack 'ere!", she yelled out towards the Shinigami with obvious urgency, "maybe ya should 'elp!" He faltered, as if she'd just broken him out of some kind of trance. He looked at everything for a moment, his head twisting and turning towards every individual present. His hands went to the sword tied to his side and then drawn with a satisfying clatter. He quickly turned the sword in his grasp as the katana had only a single edge, the backside was blunt, perfect for subduing instead of slaying. "Y-you're right", Toshiaki acknowledged and the fight took a new turn as he went after the thugs at last. Shū breathed a sigh of relief before she leaped back, away from another strike. She retaliated with her knife this time, drawing a cut across the flesh of his arm, it was easy, requiring little force on her part for the sharpened edge to start splitting skin leaving behind a red line of blood as a trail of her movement. The thug immediately started screaming, forgetting all about the cause of his new injury right in front of him. She grabbed his weapon, his grip having slackened, making it easy to take. She immediately tripped him up afterward before tossing her newly pilfered tool at another of the thugs as he tried to take her new Shinigami accomplice from behind. It hit him with a heavy thud and an exclamation of "oof!" from the thug as he collapsed under the force of the attack. The fight continued at pace for a while, though they had fewer numbers, Shū had the experience of countless conflicts under her belt and Toshiaki had the elite training of the Gotei 13, so the upper hand remained theirs until the thugs eventually gave up running away at the call of their leader in a stampede of disorganized retreat. It was short, but exhausting. Her muscles cried for relief under her skin, her pores soaked out sweat and her breathing rushed out heavy and out of pace. She could hear the same thing from Toshiaki giving away his similar state. She started to laugh as she drew a cloth from a pocket situated on the back of her trousers, wiping the stains of blood from her blade before they had time to dry. She pocketed both items back into their proper place afterward, casting her eyes to her temporary ally. "You ain't half bad with that sword, y'know", she told him with earnest praise, at least for her. "Thank you", Toshiaki replied amidst a breath, bowing his head to her. "You're really strong, have you never thought about joining the Gotei 13?", he returned the compliments with a question, his tone was honest but curious. "Heh, I'm content enough jus' lazin' about 'round 'ere", she spoke though it rung in her mind as untrue given her recent dislike for how stagnant everything could be. "Is there nothing you seek to achieve? A goal perhaps, one that can't be brought to fruition by simply waiting?", he poked again with questions. "Hm...", her arms shifted, the left moved towards her right, situating itself beneath her elbow as the right rose to her face, cupping her chin within her fingers as she dropped into thought. She had... a dream', she couldn't rightly call it a goal, it was pretty impossible to achieve she was sure. But she was never one for keeping things like that hidden, being embarrassed was a past time of naïve maidens, not a gruff Queen of the sea. "I want an ocean, its dirt and forest as far as the eye can see around 'ere and it bores me to tears, I want a sea, a puddle that stretches for leagues where I can grab a ship 'n' a crew and sail out forever", she enthused about it to him with a seeming sense of pride. "Then work towards it, a water-type Zanpakutō and enough time and training, you could create a man made ocean, there are also artifacts that could do this and the Soul King is not unrewarding", Toshiaki replied his tone had dampened perhaps because he realized that he was starting to sound like a sales pitch, doing whatever he could to get her into the ranks of the Shinigami. But she wasn't going so easily. "Alright, I'll think about it", she stated causing Toshiaki to suddenly sigh. It wasn't stressed out, more of a relieved nature, like it was the answer he needed to hear. Shū chuckled at the action before waving him off. It was time to depart. She started down the road again but stopped a few paces away as she heard Toshiaki call out. "Ah- before I forget, I'm Toshiaki, Toshiaki Ōtomo!" "Shū, just Shū!", she replied smiling. End of Chapter